Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! Please don't sue.
Prologue
"Remember me?"
Call lifted a pale, slender hand from the cool glass, turning slowly. She smiled inwardly at the minutely arrogant, yet affectionate tone. Her eyes gleamed pleasantly at the tall, lithe figure in the doorway before returning to their previous engagement.
"Of course."
Ripley's lips curved into an amused smile. She walked over to her petite friend, following the artificial gaze to the window. She leaned against the chilled surface and eyed Call appreciatively.
"I just found out that you were aboard this extensive piece of shrapnel. I admit I was afraid I'd be stuck alone with these lab-drones and their high-tech excuses for pitifully void and depressing lives. As a mere bodyguard I fail to share in the mental stimulation associated with dissection."
Call laughed. ""Mere bodyguard"? I doubt your payroll could be described in such a meager fashion. How much did they get you for?"
"More than I care to count. You?"
"I volunteered. My payment will be in the "countless benefacts of our vital finds..." A faint snort escaped delicately flared nostrils. "But then, these missions always are. Beneficial, I mean. For mankind..." A grin played across her lips. "How have you been?"
"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Arms crossed. "You?"
Chuckle. "Same."
It had been seven years since Call had set foot on Earth for the first time. Seven years since what was now known as the "Cloning Incident". The govt. had refused to acknowledge that the Xenomorphs were capable of something as mentally challenging as escaping from their flimsy containment chambers, and set the blame upon the shoulders of any creations/altered life forms aboard the demolished vessel. According to their "exemplary" calculations and pride at Ripley's successful re-creation, it was presumed, logically of course, that the existence of other such beings was a certainty. And rebellion could be found in many sizes and forms...
Call thought of the mutated and torturously deformed creatures of the inner-most lab chambers, cringing. The govt. was comprised of demented, inhumane murderers at best. So why was she working for them? Call knitted her eyebrows in confusion. Why was she? The money was about as appealing as stones to her. What need could a sythetic life-form have for it? She wasn't a material girl by any means. What had her motivation been? She doubted any real good could come from this expedition or any other, for that matter. The past could vouch for that.
She watched the stars whiz by the long sheer panel, pondering. The comforting warmth of Ripley's elbow could be felt beside her upper arm.
Synthetically perfect teeth gnawed on a plump lower lip. Now that she thought about it...she didn't recall agreeing to join this expedition, or signing up for it. As a matter of fact, the past few days seemed to elude her memory quite frustratingly. Shrugging it off on the basis that she was a now-out-dated model and labeled mentally unstable through govt. diagnostics, Call pushed the confusing questions from her head. Of course she had volunteered. She wouldn't be here if she hadn't.
And Ripley was here, too. It was good to see an old friend again...
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"Look alive, ladies!" Terc popped a tanned face into the room, scanning for its occupants blatantly. They swiveled simultaneously, silhouettes against the tall window.
Terc couldn't keep the smirk off his face, finding them both rather easy on the eyes. Perfect emblems of feminine strength and innocence. Tall and delicate...The only females aboard the vessel, actually. He smoothed back a nonexistent lock of hair.
"Well, you're both looking mighy...healthy today," he stated playfully.
Ripley wouldn't have cared if he was the most attractive man alive. "Is there something you want, Terc? Or do you roam the halls aimlessly every morning in a belittling stupor?"
A flush rose in his cheeks. Deffinitely the dominant type, that one. To his knowledge, they were both human, although he knew the tall one possessed some sort of combat skills. He'd just have to let her know who was in charge one day. Overpowering her would be of little consequence...
"Oh...I just thought I'd give you two a little forewarning before we land. Primping time." He winked at Call, admiring the way the pixie-cut framed her lovely porcelin face. "Chip says to be at the docking bay in ten minutes." He let his eyes linger for a moment longer before strutting down the hallway to round up the rest of the land-crew.
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Lur'eksh retracted twin wrist blades, smirking as the corpse slid to the ground, acidic blood hissing against the dirt. He caught a darkened blur of movement to his left out of the corner of his mask's visor and spun on his heel. A metallic discus was sent whirring in the xenomorph's direction and sliced through the thick hide as if it were no more than warm butter, before flying back into the Predator's grasp in one fluid motion. His mandibles clicked with pride as he proceeded to sever the head of the drone. This was turning out to be a rather satisfactory hunt.
A shriek-like roar sounded in the distance, a loud blurt ending in a violent hiss. Lur'eksh lay down his current trophy, cloaking and pulling out his spear, plasma caster already trained on one of the approaching serpents.
"I won't be able to even carry all of the trophies from this hunt," he thought amusedly, eyes narrowing at his prey's approach.
He failed to notice the showy human ship appear almost directly overhead. Nor did he take notice of the high-pitched blaring it began to emanate.
The xenomorphs were less than 20 yards away. Crouching in anticipation of lunging at the one in the middle, Lur'eksh's vision remained forward-cast. He could see the lustre of their shell-like skin. Sleek black lips curling in rage to reveal saliva dripping incisors. Just a little closer...
A bright light flashed behind the hunter momentarily before it engulfed him and his opponents in a blinding matter of seconds. Sound, too, seemed to be enveloped by the blast until it broke free of the flash and pounded upon the decadent valley with brick-shattering force. The silence was now, in itself, deafening. By the time the already barren gulch returned to its normal spectrum of hues, nothing stirred. The vessel set down lightly on the disrupted soil.
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"What's going on?" Call could feel the ship powering up for an attack as it approached the planet's surface.
"Just a precaution, miss." One of the lab techs glanced out a small window of the docking bay. "This planet is highly populated with acidic-based life-forms. It's safer to rid ourselves of them while still aboard the ship. And we require somewhat level landscapes to land this ship on." he grinned unpleasantly. "Looks like we've got ourselves a welcome party."
Call could see the all-too-familiar creatures stampeding in the direction of the ship.
"Funny. It doesn't look like they've even noticed us, but they're still progressing this way." Call stood on tiptoes and pressed her forehead to the window in an attempt to get a better view. Was there something directly in front of the ship?
"I've got a question for you." Ripley stepped into the lab tech's line of view purposely.
He looked up coldly. "Yes, miss Ripley?" She always had something hindering to say.
"You said this planet is populated with those things..." She pointed out the window. A nod from the lab-coat. "Then why is it even a possibility for human inhabitants?"
"They are easily exterminated with present weapons and resources. As a species I'm afraid they're rather unintelligent, " he replied, knowing full well of Ripley's genetic make up.
"Oh is that right?" Ripley glanced around the room nonplussed. "I seem to remember them making quite an impact on your 'weapons and resources' not too long ago..." Sending him a warning glance, she stepped over to the land cruiser and climbed inside, motioning for Call to follow suit.
Unimpressed with both the gaudy vessel and its bull-headed techs, Call made to follow Ripley. A hand at her elbow brought her to an abrupt halt, however.
"I'm afraid I'll need to run a diagnostic before you can leave the vessel, miss Call." He lead her into an alcove to the rear of the docking chamber.
"But I just went through all of that bullshit before I left." Call glared at him coldly.
"Yes, but now is the time when you will be needed to function properly the most." He pulled a syringe down form one of the glass cabinets as Call watched the sky beyond the glass brighten disturbingly.
I know I wouldn't have signed up for this, Call thought, turning to face the lab technician. She got only a good glance at the smirk on his portly face before the sharp sting penetrated her neck and her vision was lost to a dull gray haze. She sagged to the floor, eyes wide.
"Yes," the man said, kneeling beside her immoble form. "We have much for you to do..."
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This is my first attempt at an aliens/predator fic. Please feel free to tell me of any mistakes I made (mispellings of names and species or anything else-I'm doing this mainly from memory) or if you liked or despised it! :P
Thanks to AniseAvP for the correction on Winona Rider's character's name :) I've reloaded the whole thing to get rid of some of the typos and wacky division lines. : )